Trillium Asset Management LLC Has $49.15 Million Position in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

Trillium Asset Management LLC lowered its position in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 4.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 209,756 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 10,516 shares during the period. Ecolab accounts for 1.3% of Trillium Asset Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 11th largest holding. Trillium Asset Management LLC owned 0.07% of Ecolab worth $49,150,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. PFW Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Ecolab in the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,262,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB grew its holdings in Ecolab by 797.3% during the third quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 17,820 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $4,550,000 after purchasing an additional 15,834 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its holdings in Ecolab by 8.7% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,627,017 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $381,552,000 after purchasing an additional 129,635 shares during the last quarter. Corundum Group Inc. grew its holdings in Ecolab by 47.9% during the fourth quarter. Corundum Group Inc. now owns 7,548 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,769,000 after purchasing an additional 2,444 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Ecolab during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $246,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have commented on ECL shares. StockNews.com downgraded Ecolab from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Argus upgraded Ecolab to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Ecolab from $295.00 to $313.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on Ecolab from $285.00 to $307.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $295.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $288.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ecolab

In related news, Director David Maclennan acquired 400 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $264.51 per share, with a total value of $105,804.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 18,767 shares in the company, valued at $4,964,059.17. The trade was a 2.18 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Machiel Duijser sold 5,721 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $264.04, for a total value of $1,510,572.84. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 3,774 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $996,486.96. The trade was a 60.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 17,435 shares of company stock valued at $4,637,985. 0.04% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Ecolab Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of ECL stock opened at $253.51 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $71.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.14. Ecolab Inc. has a one year low of $217.05 and a one year high of $273.69. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $253.32 and a 200 day moving average price of $250.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 0.95.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The basic materials company reported $1.81 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.81. Ecolab had a return on equity of 22.50% and a net margin of 13.42%. Analysts predict that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be given a $0.65 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 18th. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.03%. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 35.23%.

Ecolab Profile

Ecolab Inc provides water, hygiene, and infection prevention solutions and services in the United States and internationally. The company operates through three segments: Global Industrial; Global Institutional & Specialty; and Global Healthcare & Life Sciences. The Global Industrial segment offers water treatment and process applications, and cleaning and sanitizing solutions to manufacturing, food and beverage processing, transportation, chemical, metals and mining, power generation, pulp and paper, commercial laundry, petroleum, refining, and petrochemical industries.